Government issues stark travel warning about new virus outbreak | Official Website of Louis Velazquez, entrepreneur, finance guy and tech innovator

While the main travel advisories around the safety or danger of visiting a given nation are issued by the State Department, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) also puts out travel alerts about disease outbreaks and other epidemiological issues around the world.

The four-tier rating system ranges from the “practice usual precautions” level assigned for diseases that are consistently present in a given region to level four’s “avoid all travel” for major health crises and pandemics. Contrary to the State Department, the CDC does not assign a rating to every country but issues advisories for specific health situations as they arise.

As of August 2025, there are no travel alerts at the “reconsider nonessential travel” or “avoid all travel” levels.

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China sees spike in mosquito-borne virus

At the start of the month, the CDC did issue a Level Two travel alert for anyone planning to visit China. Since the start of the summer, the country has seen a rapid rise of the chikungunya virus in certain regions.

A mosquito-borne disease spread primarily by the Aedes variety of the insect, the virus is rarely fatal but causes fever, swelling, and joint pain that can at times become severe and last for years.

The Guangdong province in the southern part of the country has reported over 7,000 cases since the start of July, while others have also been seeing sharp spikes in numbers.

Although regular chikungunya outbreaks occur in tropical countries such as Thailand, India, and Brazil, its spread in China has alarmed epidemiologists.

The southern city of Foshan is considered to be the epicenter with over 60% of cases in the country coming from there; patients attained by the virus in the city are now required to stay in the hospital underneath mosquito nets to prevent greater spread. There are also concerns about spread to regions far from the origin through travel and a highly globalized world.

“You can protect yourself by preventing mosquito bites, which includes using insect repellent; wearing long-sleeved shirts and pants; and staying in places with air conditioning or that have screens on the windows and doors,” the CDC travel alert issued on Aug. 1 reads. “Vaccination is recommended for travelers who are visiting an area with a chikungunya outbreak.”

The mosquito-borne chikungunya virus is more common in tropical countries like Thailand.

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Traveling to China? Know your risk of severe chikungunya symptoms

The two vaccines approved in the U.S. include the live-attenuated vaccine IXCHIQ and a virus-like particle vaccine called VIMKUNYA; they are prescribed to those traveling to an area with an outbreak or laboratory workers who are regularly exposed to the virus.

Pregnant women close to giving birth are advised to avoid travel to areas with chikungunya outbreaks. The virus can be passed on during delivery, and newborn infants infected with the virus are at greatest risk of severe symptoms.

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“People at risk for more severe disease include newborns infected around the time of birth, older adults (65 years or older), and people with medical conditions such as diabetes or heart disease,” the advisory reads further. “Death from chikungunya is rare.”